The Moon and a Bottle of Jack
by Ferdy 63
Summary: Daryl and Carol have both been hurt in their past lives. They've become valued members of their group of survivors and developed a strong bond with each other. It seems they'll never take things past the friendship stage until one quiet night under a full moon as they share a couple of drinks. Rating M for some sexual themes. Reviews are greatly appreciated.


Daryl Dixon's life had prepared him for the end of the world. In fact, walkers were a lot easier to deal with than his old man had ever been, not to mention Merle. Life had always sucked. Course, it sucked a bit more now, but overall it wasn't too hard to deal with as far as he was concerned. It was just more asses to kick.

It was strange that he'd never really understood what the word home meant until no one had a home anymore. And even stranger, home wasn't a place. It was a group of people, his family now. Home was Rick, Carl and that little ass kicker Judith; Hershel and his two girls; Glenn, and most of all Carol.

Carol unsettled Daryl, made him uncomfortable, but in a good way. She wasn't beautiful, at least not like the women in those nudie magazines Merle always kept around, but she had a glow about her that came from deep within. He could see it in her eyes. If he stood close enough, he could even feel it, like a humming on his skin. It made her beautiful no matter how dirty or tired or beaten down she got. She shined through it like a beacon.

Life hadn't been kind to her either. First she'd had that bastard Ed who treated her worse than a dog. Then she'd lost her precious Sofia. He didn't know how she managed to come back from all that but she had. She got stronger and braver and tougher every day and she helped him and the others in countless ways all the time. He worried sometimes that she was too good to live, yet every time they had a challenge to face she came through.

He thought he'd lost her once when that horde of walkers had gotten into the prison. He never wanted to feel that way again. He had promised himself that he'd keep her safe, no matter what.

He sat watching her now from the guard tower. He was supposed to be keeping an eye on the road and surrounding countryside during his watch, but he also kept one eye on her down below doing laundry. Her short tousled hair was damp and sticking to her flushed face as she worked in the heat. She looked so serious and so tired. He decided to have a little fun, maybe get a smile out of her as well.

There were some dried up flowers lying in the corner of the tower. It was probably some that Glen had picked for Maggie and they'd gotten left behind after one of their frequent "encounters" up in the guard tower. He pulled one of the petals off and let it drift down below to where Carol stood rubbing jeans against a washboard.

The first petal missed the mark so he dropped another. It hit her directly on the nose. She quickly waved her hand as if to shoo away a fly and then got right back to business. He dropped another which landed on the back of her neck. Again she reached and swiped at her neck and went straight back to scrubbing. It took 5 or 6 times before Carol finally looked up from her work and noticed that something was falling on her. Darryl leaned over the rail and grinned down at her.

She dropped her wash and stood smiling up at him with hands on her hips. She shook her finger up at him but he threw his hands up in an "I don't know what you're talking about" gesture. She marched over to the stairs and was quickly up in the tower with him.

"Daryl Dixon, what are you up to? Can't you see how busy I am? Maggie and Glen are out on a supply run. Rick and Carl are checking the perimeter and Beth is watching Judith. I don't have any help with the clothes today and now you're distracting me."

Daryl was always shy with Carol. He always seemed to fumble with words when she talked to him. For the most part, he was a man of few words and most of those consisted of the four letter variety. With Carol, he wanted to talk but just couldn't seem to think of what to say.

"So, mister," she teased, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Sorry. Just bored I guess. Not used to things being so quiet."

"It has been quiet," she agreed, "Not that I'm complaining. It's normal I guess to feel a little unsettled with this quiet after the craziness we've had to deal with for so long. I wish we could just take a day off, you know. Just do something fun for a while without having to worry about walkers or anything else. I miss having moments like that. Even when I was with Ed, I'd have my afternoons while he was at work. I'd spend the day in my garden or play in the sprinkler with Sofia. Sometimes we'd sit on the back porch and eat popsicles while she told me knock knock jokes." Tears sprang to her eyes as she spoke of her daughter, "I miss that."

Without even thinking, Daryl reached over and wiped a tear off her cheek. She looked up in shock at his touch which caused him to pull his hand away quickly.

"Sorry," he mumbled, switching his gaze to the floor.

"You didn't do anything to be sorry for," she whispered stepping closer to him. She tentatively put a hand on his arm, "You're a good, kind man, Daryl. And that's okay. It's not something you have to be ashamed of, or sorry for."

Daryl pulled back and turned away from her, "Well, I, um, I've got to get back to the watch, and looks like you've got laundry to finish so…."

Carol stood for a moment looking at his back. He was afraid she was going to try and talk to him some more but she didn't say anything, just turned and walked back down to the bottom of the tower. He made himself keep his gaze focused out on the fence line until he heard her finishing up and walking across the gravel back to the door to Cell Block C. She stopped and waved at him before going back inside but he pretended he didn't see her.

He still had a few more hours before Rick was coming to switch out with him. He had nowhere to go and nothing to occupy his mind except thoughts of Carol. Why couldn't he just talk to her? It wasn't like he was some punk virgin. He'd had plenty of women, and some of them he hadn't even had to pay. Course it wasn't like he'd ever had to really talk to any of them. He and whatever woman he was with were usually too drunk to carry on a conversation. It had just been sex, and he'd always got up and left as soon as the physical act was over. Talking to a woman, being sociable, was something he just had no experience in. Carol deserved more than he could give her.

Later that night, Daryl sat up on his bed. He couldn't sleep. No one else seemed to be having a problem but he was wide awake. He tried reading but he'd never been able to sit still long enough to finish a book. He finally decided to get up and go for a walk.

It was a clear night, starting to get cool. He waved to Rick in the guard tower as he exited the cell block. He could hear the shambling and moaning outside the fence as he walked to his bike and took a bottle out of the saddlebag. A little nip might be just what he needed to take the edge off so he could sleep. He didn't want to take it back inside so he walked around the corner of the building to a bench that had managed to survive the riots that had destroyed almost everything else in the prison.

He sat on the bench a while, occasionally sipping from the bottle of whiskey. The moon was full and bright, a harvest moon his brother had called it. The only sounds besides the distant groans from the walkers was the chirping of the crickets and an occasional hoot owl. The warmth of the liquor was beginning to loosen him up when he heard a footstep behind him. Instinct made him grab his bow and turn, ready to take out whatever was sneaking up on him.

Carol stopped abruptly, throwing her hands up. "Whoa, whoa, it's just me," she yelped.

Daryl quickly dropped the bow to his side. A flash of panic swept over him, "What the hell you doin' sneaking up on people, bitch?" he asked angrily.

He regretted those words before they even got completely out of his mouth. He hadn't meant to sound so angry. She had startled him and it scared him so badly to think that he could have hurt her. He watched Carol's eyes darken and her face change after she heard him. He wanted to grab her and pull her to him but instead he only managed an apologetic mumble, "I…Sorry, I didn't mean that. You just…you shouldn't be out here in the dark. It's dangerous. I almost shot you." He knew that he'd hurt her feelings and expected her to simply turn and walk away as she usually did. Instead she stepped closer to him.

"You're out here. It's not too dangerous for you to sit here and get drunk," she retorted.

Daryl was a little awed by the fiery response. "I, uh yeah, but I've got my bow."

Carol reached behind her back and pulled a snub nose pistol from her waistband, "Yeah and I have this. Guess we're even." Daryl couldn't hide his smile. This was not the same woman who'd first joined their group outside of Atlanta. This was a little spitfire and he liked it. She reached and took the whiskey bottle from the bench and tilted it back for a healthy swallow.

Daryl was shocked but he was also beginning to get really turned on by this new Carol.

"Didn't take you for a drinker but okay, I get it," he told her, "You can handle yourself and I'm sorry. "

Carol took another big gulp of the whiskey and then squenched her eyes at the burn that followed. As she handed him the bottle back, she said, "You know what, Daryl Dixon. I am so fucking tired of you being sorry. You're sorry for what you say and you're sorry for what you don't say, sorry for what you do or don't do. Do you ever do anything you're not sorry for? You're as good as any other man here, Daryl. I know that and so does everyone else here, but you don't believe it. I know what that feels like. I believed everything Ed told me for 8 years, hell more than that. I believed I was useless and worthless and a coward, that nobody else would ever give a damn about me. I know better now. Ed was an asshole. He was the one who was a worthless coward. When are you going to realize that your father and Merle are the ones who were worthless assholes, not you? They made you believe there was something wrong with you because it made them feel better. Just stop being sorry for God's sake and just live, be your own man, do what feels good."

Her voice had gotten steadily louder as she talked and Daryl stepped over to put his hand up to her mouth, whispering "Shh, you're going to stir up the walkers." She was also stirring something inside of him but he didn't mention that.

Carol shook her head. "Sorry, I'm not used to hard liquor." There were tears sitting unshed in her eyes when she looked up at him. "I care about you Daryl, a lot. You've done more for me than anyone else in my life ever has. I just…I'm tired of this game we're playing. Sometimes I think that you…" She stumbled on her words but Darryl waited breathlessly to see what she would say next. She shook her head, "Oh, hell! Forget it. This isn't ever going to work, is it? Sorry, sorry I bothered you."

"Don't be sorry," he said through a grin. "I had a feisty little woman tell me once to stop being sorry and just do what feels good."

"Yeah, well, hard liquor like I said," she explained. They stood looking awkwardly at each other for a moment until she turned as if to leave, "Look, you're right, I shouldn't be out here. I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight, Daryl."

He grabbed her arm before she could walk away. "What's the hurry? I still got half a bottle of Jack and it's a pretty night. Want to sit with me for a while?"

Carol tilted her head, pursed her lips and gave him a questioning look before walking a step closer to him. "It's not too dangerous out here for me anymore?" she asked.

Feeling emboldened by the whiskey and by this saucy new attitude from Carol, Daryl teased in return. "I don't know, depends on what you're scared of I guess."

"Well, definitely not you!" she taunted him as she stepped over and sat down on the bench patting a space for Daryl to join her.

Daryl took another swig from the bottle and passed it to Carol. They sat like that for a while not saying anything. The only sound was the sloshing of the whiskey and the chirp of crickets. Daryl's hand slid slowly along the bench, as they sat, until it covered Carol's. She looked over at him in surprise.

"Remember that first night we got to the prison?" he asked her.

"Yeah, sure," she said.

"Remember what you asked me?" he continued.

"Um, you mean that night after dinner?" she shyly responded.

"Yep," he said.

"Yeah, I remember," she told him, embarrassment reddening her cheeks.

"Well, you wanna ask me again?" he said, turning to look at her.

"Nope, not this time," she teased, "I think it's your turn to do the asking."

Daryl chuckled under his breath, looking down at the ground. "That's what I was afraid you'd say."

She sat as still as a statue staring at him, her eyes shining in the moonlight. He reached over and cupped her face in his hands as he leaned in to plant a chaste kiss on her lips. "So, Carol," he said in all seriousness, "Want to screw around?"

She looked a little dazed but nodded her acceptance, and leaned forward to take possession of his lips. This time it wasn't a peck. It was full on, open mouthed tonsil hockey and it sent a current through Darryl's body like nothing he'd ever felt before. Suddenly he couldn't get enough of this woman. He wanted to know every inch of her skin, how it felt and how it tasted. He felt a little crazy and light headed as the urgency of their foreplay increased.

His hand had worked inside her shirt and he was attempting to unhook her bra when he heard her whisper, "We need to go inside somewhere. We can't be out here in the open like this."

Daryl pulled back just slightly. He couldn't manage more than a nod as he pulled her from the bench and led her towards the car parked inside the fence. They would have no privacy anywhere inside the prison and Rick was in the guard tower. The back seat of the car would have to do.

They crawled in together and immediately began removing each other's clothes. Within a couple of minutes, they were two bodies entwined. He was shy with her at first, not able to look into her eyes but as she whispered tender words and moaned with pleasure at his touch, he became bolder. He sat back and pulled her onto his lap so that he could watch her as their passion built. She placed her hands on his shoulders and arched away from him pulling him deeper into her body. There had never been a moment in his life that had filled him with such awe and wonder as his feelings for Carol. He wanted to share everything with her, to protect her and to make her happy. He needed her. He wanted her and here she was. She was his and nothing would take her from him.

The lovers collapsed together back against the seat, spent and satiated. Carol was breathless. She pressed her face into Daryl's neck and he heard the tiniest whisper, "I love you Daryl Dixon." He couldn't help himself. He smiled and stumbled through the three words he never thought he'd say to anyone, "Love you too."

She pulled her head back and looked at him in amazement with a huge grin on her face, "Did you…did you just say…" Daryl touched his rough, work worn fingers to her cheek and smiled back, "I think I did. Yeah." Then she was kissing him again and his hands were exploring more of this body that he didn't think he could ever get enough of.

All through the night, it was like that. They'd make love and then rest and talk, maybe sleep a little and somehow the heat would rekindle and they'd be tangled up again. He wasn't sure where either one of them was getting the energy from but he really didn't care. He just wanted more of her.

Neither of them realized that the sun was rising. The car windows were completely fogged over from all the heavy breathing going on. They were in the middle of another heated moment when they heard someone calling, "Daryl, Carol? Where are you?"

Carol quickly scrambled off his lap and began looking for clothes, "It's Glenn. Oh my god, it's morning already. They're looking for us, Daryl."

Daryl followed Carol's example and began tugging at his jeans that had lain wadded up in the floor for the past few hours. They were just getting shirts pulled on when they heard Glenn chuckling and yelling, "Found 'em guys. They're okay."

Daryl and Carol looked at each other sheepishly. They were caught and knew it. "I feel like a teenager caught by my parents," she giggled to Daryl before she reached to open the car door.

Glenn, Maggie and Rick stood arms crossed and grinning as the two of them climbed out of the backseat. Daryl reached back in to grab his bow which had been on the front seat floor board. Rick rubbed his stubbly cheek, trying to hide his grin as he asked, "You two okay?"

Daryl was angry for a second but then he felt Carol take his hand. "Yep," she said, "I slept like a baby. What about you, Daryl?" Daryl looked over at her. God, she was beautiful, radiant like a ray of sunshine breaking through a dark cloud cover. "Uh huh. I, uh, slept good, real good."

Glen couldn't hide his delight at finding the two of them in such a compromising situation. After all, Daryl had given him enough crap when they'd caught him and Maggie in the guard tower. "You seem to have some sort of bites on your neck there, Daryl. You probably should let Hershel take a look at that later." Glen felt Maggie elbow him before he said anything more.

Maggie took Glen's hand and looked to Rick, "Well, we just wanted to make sure you were both okay. We'll be going now. Breakfast'll be ready in a few minutes if you're hungry," he told them as they turned to go. The amused trio all walked away together. Daryl could hear Maggie talking before they turned the corner of the building, "Well, finally! I didn't think they were ever gonna do the deed."

Daryl turned to look at Carol again. She still held his hand and was smiling up at him.

"That was the most amazing night of my life, Daryl. I don't…I don't even know what to say or what's going to happen now. I don't want you to think I'm expecting anything from you. I just…" There were tears in her eyes.

He cupped her face in his hands and bent to kiss her gently. "I think we're going to be just fine, darlin'. We can handle whatever's next as long as we stick together. Now, let's go get some breakfast. I don't know about you but I worked up a powerful appetite last night." He took her hand and they walked back into the prison.


End file.
